Reclosing circuit breaker



Feb. 23, 1943. J s THOMPSON ETAL 2,311,714

RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed July 22, 1940 6' Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 23,1943. J 5 THOMPSON ETAL 2,311,714

RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed July 22, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 2 f1" s-EL-1 5a s Z: /a I W III," I, I I i I 2 1943- J. s. THOMPSON ETAL 2,311,714

RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed July 22, 1940 I 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fin-3'-Feb. 23, J. 5 THQMPSQN ETAL 2,311,714

RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER INV NTORS.

23, 1943- J. 5. THOMPSON zrm. 2,311,714

RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed July 22, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb 3- J.s. THOMPSON El'AL .714

RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKER Filed July 22, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Fis-Ji INV N TORS Patented Febl 23, 1943 2,311,714 RECLOSING CIRCUIT BREAKERJoseph 8. Thompson and Charles E. Bay, San Francisco Calif., assignorsto Pacific Electric Manufacturing Corporation, San Francisco,

Calif a corporation of California Application July 22, 1940, Serial No.346,816

18 Claims.

Our present invention relates to circuit breakers, and more particularlyto circuit breakers of the so-called reclosing type which are adapted toopen and automatically reclose an electrical circuit upon the occurrenceof an overload or fault thereupon. I

An object of the invention is to provide a reclosing circuit breaker forelectric power systems that will give overload protection andpredetermined automatic reclosures of the circuit in a reliable andeillcient manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic reclosingcircuit breaker in which thereclosing operations thereof are carried outby mechanical means independently of current conditions upon the powerline connected therethrough.

Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic reclosingcircuit breaker with time delay means which, upon the occurrence of asustained overload or fault upon the line, will serve to delay thesecond reclosing operation for a period of time greater than that of thefirst reclosing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide an operating mechanism foran automatic revenient manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spring operatingmechanism for an automatic reclosing circuit breaker in which novelmeans is provided to maintain the spring in a 'predetermined woundcondition.

Another object of the invention is to provide automatic time controlledtripping and reclosing means for an automatic circuit breaker in whichthe opening and reclosing operations are delayed for predeterminedintervals upon the occurrence of a fault upon the power line.

Another object of the invention is to provide a timing mechanism forcontrolling a spring operated reclosing circuit breaker which will berendered inoperative'when the circuit breaker operating springapproaches a predetermined unwoundv condition.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part evident tothose skilled in the art and in part pointed out hereinafter inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein there is shown by wayof illustration and not of limitation preferred embodiments of theseveral features of this invention.

In the drawings;

Figure is a fragmentary view partially in section showing a conventionalcircuit breaker of the multipole type adapted to be operated by theoperating mechanism contemplated by this invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical view with parts in section showing the circuitbreaker contacts in their closed circuit position,

Figure '3 is a vertical view taken along line III-III of Figure 1showing the arrangement of the circuit breaker operated and timingmechanisms,

Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged views showing details respectively of thecircuit opening and reclosing latches illustrated in Figure 3 of thedrawings,

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the center of thecircuit breaker operating spring shown in Figure 1 of the drawings,

Figure 7 is an end view of the spring operating mechanism illustrated inFigure 6 with parts broken away to illustrate the construction of apreferred form of spring holding and winding motor,

Figures 12, 13 and 14 are fragmentary views showing details of the timercontrolled reclosing latch operating mechanism under differentconditions of operation, and

Figure 15 is a plan view of the timer mechanism illustrated in Figure12.

The apparatus contemplated by the present invention is similar in manyrespects in its mode of operation to the apparatus disclosed in U. S.Patent No. 2,125,465, issued August 2, 1938, to August C. Schwager andPaul Frehner, entitled Automatic reclosing circuit breaker, and assignedto the assignee of this invention. In its details of construction,however, this invention is considered an improvement upon the aforesaiddisclosure in that it provides a different p of operating means which isparticularly suitable for use in connection with circuit breakers ofhigher voltage and current capacities.

The purpose of the present invention, like that disclosed in the abovepatent, is to provide a reclosing circuit breaker which is adapted toprovide overload protection on a transmission line with automaticreclosures at predetermined intervals and to this end the circuitbreaker operating mechanism is so constructed that it will automaticallyopen the circuit upon the occurrence of an overload or fault andimmediately thereafter reclose the circuit so that should the fault becleared, the circuit will be immediately reestablished. In the eventthat the overload or fault is of a continuous nature, the operatingmechanism is adapted 'to again open the circuit and after apredetermined time delay, again reclose the circuit, this operationbeing repeated through two or more reclosing operations after which,should the overload or fault still exist upon the circuit in which thecircuit breaker is connected, the circuit breaker operating mechanismwill be rendered ineffective to produce a further reclosing of thecircuit breaker.

For the purpose of a detailed description of the invention, there isshown in the drawings a circuit breaker of the three-pole type in whicha bridging member is movable with respect to two spaced stationarycontacts into a circuit closed or a circuit opened position in theconventional manner well understood in the art.

Reference is now made to Figure 1 of the drawings for a generaldescription of the apparatus as a whole,- and later the various novelaspects thereof will be taken up in detail in connection with theremaining figures of the drawings. In this figure of the drawings, thenumeral ll designates a frame that is adapted to be secured upon anysuitable support and from which there is suspended a tank I i that isadapted to enclose the circuit controlling contacts of the circuitbreaker and contain a suitable insulating and are extinguishing liquidl2, such as oil. The frame II also supports a cover forming member I!which is suspended therefrom so as to enclose the circuit breakercontrolling and operating mechanisms which are here designatedrespectively by the numerals l4 and I. As shown, the controllingmechanism is in the main supported upon a transversely extendingpanel-like member II that is likewise carried by the frame Ill, and theoperating mechanism II is supported 'upon a suitable bracket II which iscarried by A the panel-like member II. The frame It has a web orpartition ll which serves to separate the controlling mechanism ll fromthe circuit controlling elements of the circuit breaker. This partitionll also serves to support one end of a circuit breaker operating shaftI! that extends therethrough and is disposed along one side of thecircuit breaker contacts. As shown, the shaft II has spaced inwardlyextending arms 20 which are movable through an arc as the operatingshaft is is oscillated and at their free ends these inwardly extendingarms III are connected through a suitable linkage 2 I to alongitudinally extending bar 22. Suspended from the bar 22 and guided ina vertical path by guide members 23 there is a suitable insulatingsupport It for each phase of the circuit breaker, upon the lower ends ofwhich contact bridging members II are mounted. With this arrangement,when the shaft II is oscillated. the insulating supports 24 will move upand down in a vertical direction through the guide members 28 and thuscarry the contact bridging members II into and out of cooperatingrelation with the stationary contacts of the circuit breaker. end, theshaft I. has a lever arm I. that is connected through a pitman TI to aneccentric crank arm II which is adapted to be moved intermittentlythrough successive arcs of The crank arm 28 is rotated by a shaft 20that is driven by a small gear II that meshes with a larger gear llcarried by an end plate 82 to which the free end of an energy storingoperating spring a is connected. At its other end the operating spring33 is connected to a rotatable end plate I which has gear teeth thatmesh with an idler gear II which in turn meshes with a pinion gear 3|upon the shaft of an energized electric spring winding motor 11. It willbe noted that the idler gear 8| has an axial length substantially longerthan the gear teeth upon the end plate 34. This is to permit axialmovement of the end plate N with respect to the idler gear I! as thisend of the operating spring 08 moves in and out when the spring II isbeing wound and/or unwinds. At this point it should be stated that thesprin winding motor 31 is of novel design in that it is of anon-reversible character, and as a result, in addition to its functionof maintaining the operating spring I! in a predetermined woundcondition, it also serves to hold the operating spring it in a woundcondition without resort to a ratchet or other like device. As a meansto provide for a manual winding of the operating spring a, the bracketi1 is shown as having a supporting plate a suspended from the endthereof upon which there is mounted a longitudinally movable stop I! anda longitudinally movable end plate engaging member 40 that operates uponthe ratchet principle to turn the end plate 34 in a spring windingdirection when an operating force is applied thereupon by means of amanual lever 4| carried thereby. The nature of this manual springwinding mechanism is to be described in detail hereinafter.

The above briefly describes the manner in which the circuit breakeroperating forces exerted by the operating spring 33 are transmitted tothe movable contact bridging members 25 when the operating mechanism Itis set in motion to effect an opening and/or a closing of the circuitbreaker contacts. For the purpose of rendering the controlling mechanismIt responsive to overload or fault conditions upon the circuit to beprotected by the circuit breaker, there is provided an overload tripcoil 4! which is in series with the contacts of each phase of thecircuit breaker. This trip coil 42, as is more clearly shown in Figure 2of the drawings, is adapted to influence an armature II which isconnected through an insulated rod 44 to a trip operating shaft 45. Eachof the trip coil operated rods 44 is connected eccentrically to the tripshaft 45 with a lost motion connection mechanism 48 which permits anyone of the trip coils 42 to operate independently of the others upon theoccurrence of an overload or fault on any one of the phases of thecircuit breaker. Like the circuit breaker operating shaft II, the tripshaft ll extends through the partition ll of the frame II and at itsextending end it carries a crank arm At its projecting t'ltowhichatogglecollapsinglinkll anda time controlling link 40 are connected.

Upon lurther reference to Figure 2 oi the draw-- ings, it will be notedthat the circuit operating shaft ii is mounted well to oneside oi thecenter oi the circuit breaker upon bearings II, and as a result the freeends or the inwardly extending arms 2| carried thereby will move insubstantially vertical arcs. Therefore, as a result oi the linkage ii atthe ends 01 the arms "and the ver-, tical guide members 28, the bridgingcontact supporting members will move vertically with a straight linemotion. 1 As here illustrated, the contact bridging members IIare-provided with upstanding contacts I whichare adapted to extend intoan arc expulsion chamber I2 that surrounds stationary contacts I}carried by terminals I4 located within the circuit breaker tank I l andat the lower ends suitable insulating bushings II that carry exposedterminals (not shown) to which the power circuit conductors areconnected. At this point it should be stated that the stationary contact53, with which the trip coil 42 is associated, is mounted within itsexpulsion chamber '2 independently of its supporting terminal I4 so thatthe circuit of the trip coil 42 can be interposed therebetween byconductors ll and II, as is well understood. This latter figure o! thedrawings clearly illustrates the nature or the lost motion connectionmechanism 4! through which the trip coil operated rods 44 are connectedto the trip operating shaft 4 As here'shown,

each or the insulated rods 4 is provided with a pin 88 which engages aslot ll in lever forming members to carried by the trip operating shaltll. with this arrangement, when any one of the rods 44 is pulled down byan associated armature 43, it will imparta partial rotation of the shaftll suiilcient to set the controlling mechanism N in operationindependently of the trip coils 42 which are associated with the otherpoles of the circuit breaker.-

Reference is now mil-(iii to Figure 3 0! the drawings for a moredetailed description or the controlling mechanism II which serves toautomatically control the opening and closing operations or the circuitbreaker under theirmuence oi the energy storing spring II. In thisfigure oixthe drawings it will be noted that the eccentric crank-arm 28,to which :the pitman 21 is conwith the crank arm 20 in its circuitbreaker closed and opened positions. In other words, the latch 63 isarranged so that when operated it will permit the circuit breakercontacts to open, and the latch 64 is arrangedso that when it isoperated into its disc releasing position, it will permit the spring 33to reclose the circuit breaker contacts. These latches 63 and M will bedescribed in more detail in connection with Figures 4 and 5 of thedrawings. Therefore, for the present it will be suillcient to note thatthe position 01 the abutment engaging portion or the latch 83 iscontrolled by toggle forming links 85 and 66 which are connected attheir meeting ends to the toggle operating link 48 previously referredto as operatively connected to the crank arm 41 which is carried by thetrip shalt ll. As here shown, the

link 48 has an elongated slot 01 at its upper end 75' that provides fora limited amount of lost motion between it and the crank arm 41. Unlikethe link ll, the time controllmg link 40 is attached directly to the endof the crank 41 and at itslower end this link II is connected to a leveram a l which is adapted to move upwardly with a time controlledmovement, the period or which is determined by a suitable escapement Nthat de termines the speed of rotation 01 a shaft lil upon which thelever arm I is mounted. With this arrangement it will be seen that whenthe crank arm 41 is released after such a toggle tripping action, thelinks ll and 4| will fall by gravity and thus reset the toggle links itand II to position the circuit opening latch '3 in its normal operativeposition. As a means to provide for a manual operation of the circuitopening latch 63, thereis provided a lever arm Ii that is pivotallymounted upon a shaft 12 located substan tially centralLv uponthesupporting panel I. This lever arm Ii has an outwardly extending pin Itat its end which is disposed beneath an outwardly extending boss llcarried by the toggle collapsing link II. For the purpose of moving thepin ll upon the lever arm 'll upwardly and into operating engagementwith the boss ll, the leverarm H has an oppositely extending arm I! overwhich the end 18 of a manual operating push and/orpull rod l'l passes.The lever arm II also has an upstanding portion 18 that is adaptedto'engage a stop 18 under the influence ot a spring ll.- The lever arm His also shown as operatively connected to an armature ll of anelectromagnet 82 by means oi a link 83. This latter expedient is toprovide for a remote electrical control or the opening'lateh 83 from apush button control station independently of the automatic trip coilcontrol provided for by the overload trip coils in the power linecircuit. It will now be seen that when the toggle collapsing link 4',which serves to. control the circuit breaker opening latch 83, is raisedby an upward movement of the lever arm 41 through a rotation of the tripcoil operated shaft 45 under the influence of an overload or fault onany one of the overload trip coils 2, or by a manual operation of thelever arm II by a pulling down upon the push and/or pull rod 11, or by arotation of the lever arm H by means oi the armature II in response toan energization of the electromagnet O2 in response to a push buttoncontrol circuit,

the toggle links as and as will be drawn upwardly into their togglecollapsed positions and as a result the opening latch 83 will be movedout of engagement with the abutment 62 upon the plate 6i and as a resultthe crank arm 28 will be carried around into its opposite or circuitbreaker open position where it will be stopped by an engagement of theabutment 82 with the reclosing latch 84, where the circuit breakercontacts will remain in their open circuit position until the reclosinglatch 64 is operated, as will now be described.

Like the circuit opening latch 63, the reclosing latch 64 is also movedinto and out oi! operative relation with the abutment 82 upon the disc6| by toggle links 8| and 85, the latter of which, as is more clearlyillustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings, has an outwardly extending end86 that carries a timer engaging link forming device 81 at its outerend. As here shown, the timer engaging link forming device 81 is biasedinto a timer engaging position by means of a spring ll that is carriedby a member 89 which is made responsive to the wound condition of theenergy storing spring 8! by means of a slidable member 00. as will bedescribed in detail hereinafter. As

hero shown. the timer eng l l 1111! U 18 bi s d outwardly into the pathof a projecting lug ti formed upon a sector I! which is adapted to bemoved, as will also be hereinafter pointed out, into a lowered positionby means associated with the circuit breaker operating spring It uponeach opening movement of the circuit breaker, after which the sector Itwill be released and permitted to move upwardly with a time controlledmovement and into a toggle link trip l engagement with the link deviceII by an operating means in the form of any suitable escapement type oftiming mechanism It. In order to provide for a manually or a remote pushbutton controlled operation of the reclosing latch ll, there is anindependently movable lever arm 04 that is freely pivoted upon a shaftll of the reclosing timer mechanism II and upon which the sector I! issecured. This lever arm 04 has an extending end which, like the lug llupon the sector 02, is adapted to bemoved into engagement with the timerengaging link ll to collapse the toggle links it and II when it is movedupwardly. This upward movement of the lever am It is effected through alink ll which is carried by an additional lever means II that ispivotally mounted upon the centrally disposed shaft 12 which likewisesupports the lever arm I i This lever means 01 has an upstanding portionII which is held in abutting relation with the stop 19 by means of thespring It, as is the case with the lever arm ll. intermediate its freeend and the shaft 12, the lever means 01 is provided with an elongatedslot ll which will permit a downward movement of the push and/or pullrod l1 and also engage the projection It thereupon so that when the rod11 is pushed upwardly, the lever means I! will be moved upwardly withthe link N and move the toggle tripping lever arm 04 into operatingrelation with the timer engaging link .1 of the reclosing latch N. Asimilar operation of the lever means I! by remote push button control isalso provided for by means of an electromagnet ill which has an armatureill that is connected thereto by a connecting link I". Before proceedingwith a detailed description of the construction of the opening andreclosing latches I and N, attention is again directed to the lever armII for the purpose of pointing out that this lever arm Ii also carries adownwardly and rearwardly extending arm ilil which projects through thepanel-like support it and is connected to a slidable member I at theback thereof which is adapted to render the reclosing timer mechanism Itinoperative in the event of a manual and/or a remote push buttoncontrolled opening operation of the circuit breaker. It will also benoted that the trip coil operated shaft 45 is biased into itsnormalinoperative position by means of a spring I" which is connectedbetween a wall of the frame ill and an arm Hi formed upon the crank arm41.

Reference will now be made to Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings for adetailed description of the opening and reclosing latch mechanisms 03and N which, as stated above, cooperate with the abutment I! to stop theoperating mechanism II with the circuit breaker contacts respectively intheir closed and opened circuit positions. Except for the differencebetween the toggle links 68 of the latch N and the link I! of the latch84, and possibly some slight differences in the dimensions of theseveral parts, they are identical in construction and mode of operation.As illustrated, the moving parts of these latches II and it are mountedupon a surface plate Ill and move between side walls ill securedthereupon thathave upstanding ears I between which the toggle links Itand II are pivotally mounted. In Figure 4, the moving parts of the latch03 are shown as comprising an abutment forming member Ill having ahorizontally extending base iii that providesa surface opposed to thesurface plate I" between which two spaced anti-friction rollers ii! arepositioned so that the abutment forming member II. can be moved into andout of interfering relation with the abutment 82 upon the disc ti. Forthe purpose of holding the horizontally extending base iii of theabutment forming member ill in cooperating relation with theanti-friction rollers iii, the side walls I carry two transverselyextending guide rods III which are positioned in spaced relation abovethe ends of the base iii. At its upper end the abutment forming memberill carries an antifriction roller i ll which is held in positionthereupon by means of an adjustable cage III that permits a limitedrolling of the roller iii thereupon, as when the latch is operated torelease the disc Ii and permit an opening of the circuit breakercontacts. The abutment forming member ill with its base iii are alsohere shown as biased into latching relation with the abutment '2 uponthe disc II by means of a compression spring Ill. This spring III iscoiled about a guide rod 1 which is pivotally secured to a downwardlyextending arm ill carried by the link ll. With this arrangement it willbe seen that in addition to biasing the abutment forming member ill incooperating relation with the abutment t2, the spring III will alsoserve in conjunction with the weight of the link ll to move the togglelinks II and I. into their extended position. As illustrated in Figure5'of the drawings, the abutment forming member ill with its horizontallyextending base iii is positioned below the surface plate ili'l where itwill be held in cooperating relation with the antifriction rollers litby guide rods Ill, previously 64 may be referred to as positioned in anupside down position with respect to the corresponding moving elementsof the latch BI. In the latch 04 the links N and 85 are shown as biasedinto an extended position by means of a compression spring ii! that iscoiled about a guide rod in which is pivotally connected to an arm I21formed upon the link ll. Inthis arrangement it will be seen that when anupwardly directed pulling force is exerted upon the link forming deviceI! carried by the extending end 86 of the toggle link 85, the toggleformed by the links I4 and I! will be collapsed and as a result theabutment forming member iili will be moved to the left, as viewed inthis figure of the drawings, and thus the anti-friction roller I It atthe end thereof will be carried out of the path of the abutment 82carried by the disc ii to permit a reclosing of the circuit breakercontacts. While we have illustrated and here described a specific formof construction for the latches 63 and 64, it is to be understood thatthese latches may take many other forms, and since their novelconstruction is not a feature of the present invention, they are to bemade the subject matter of a divisional application for patent.

Reference is now made to Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings for a moredetailed description of the construction and mode of operation of theenergy storing and circuit breaker operating spring 22 previouslyreferred to in connection with Figure 1 of the drawings. As here shown,the energy storing spring 22 is mounted concentrically with respect to ashaft I22 and between the end plates 22 and 24 to which itscorresponding ends are attached. The shaft I22 also carries the largergear 2I previously referred to as associated in driving relation withthe\smaller gear 22 carried by the shaft 22 upon which the latchengaging disc II is mounted. As shown in Figure 6, the gear teeth uponthe end plate 24 are carried by a ring I22. The end plate 24 is alsoshown as having an arm I24 which projects into the energy storing spring22 eccentric to the axis of the shaft I22. This arm I24 carries aradially extending-pin I22 that engages a spiral groove I22 formed in acollar-like member I2'I that is keyed upon the shaft I22. The purpose ofthe pin I22 and the spiral groove I22 is to pro-' duce a definite axialmovement of the end plate 24 with respect to the end plate 22 as theenergy storing spring 22 operates to give up energy by a rotation of theshaft I22, or to take up energy r by a relative rotation of the endplate 24 with respect to the end plate 22. This axial movement of theend plate 24 provides a means, as will hereinafter appear, for effectinga control of the circuit for the spring winding motor 21 and alsorendering the circuit breaker controlling mechanism I4, and particularlythe reclosing control elements thereof, in operative in the event thatthe energy storing spring 22 reaches a predetermined unwound condition.This figure of the drawings also shows the movable stop 22 whichcooperates with the end plate 24 as mounted in a recess I22 formed uponthe supporting plate 22. The movable stop 22 is held in engagingrelation with the outer face of the end' plate 24 by means of acompression spring! so that as the end plate 24 moves in and out, thestop 22 will move accordingly. Cooperating with the 'stop 22, the outersurface of the end plate 24 is provided with stepped or inclinedsurfaces which provide radially extending ridges I that are adapted toengage the movable stop 22 and thus prevent rotation of the end plate 24in all but its spring winding direction of rotation. In addition to theabovefunction, the radially extending ridges I22 upon the end plate 24provide a ratchet-like surface with which the plate engaging member .40is adapted to cooperate. As here shown, the plate engaging member 40 iscarried by a member I2I journaled upon the supporting plate 22concentric to the shaft I22 and is held in pressedengagement with theend plate 24 by means of a compression spring I22. With this arrangementit will be understood that when the manually operable lever 4I isoscillated through arcs of substan tially 90, the plate engaging member42 will suecessively engage the radial ridges I20 upon the end plate 24and produce a ratchet-like means for manually winding the energy storingspring 22. A further and important feature to be noted in connectionwith Figure 6 of the drawings is the provision of 'a series of fourequally spaced pins I22 upon the spring driven gear 2|. These pins I22serve, as will hereinafter appear, to set the automatic circuit breakerreclosing elements of the controlling mechanism I4 in operation. Asshown more particularly in Figure 7 oi' the drawings, the supportingplate 22 has a portion 76 I24 which carries a shaft I22 upon which theidler gear 22 is lournaled in cooperating relation with the pinion 22upon the electric motor 21 and the gear teeth upon the ring I22 carriedby the end plate 24. Another feature which is illustrated in this latterfigure of the drawings is the provision of a vertically disposed leverI22 which is plvotally mounted intermediate its ends upon spaced earsI21. formed upon the inside of the supporting plate 22. This lever I 22has an extension I22 at its upper end that is adapted to engage anoperating button I22 upon a normally closed circuit controlling switchI42 and effect an opening of the motor circuit when the spring 22reaches a wound condition and the end plate 24 approaches its outermostposition with respect to the end plate 22. The switch controllingmovement of the lever I22 is produced by a roller I carried thereby andbiased into engagement with the surface upon the ring I22 by means of aspring I42, as is more clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. At itslower end the lever I26 also carries one end of a push rod I42 that isadapted to cooperate with the slidable member 22 of the controlmechanism I4 in a manner to be described in connection with Figure 14 ofthe drawings.

Before passing on to the remaining figures of the drawings for adescription of the reclosing time delay elements of the controlmechanism I4, attention is called to the fact that the spring windingmotor 21 is not of the conventional type. As previously suggested, thismotor is of a non-reversible type. The particular motor constructionhere partially illustrated comprises two opposed armatures or magneticcores I44 which arelattracted toward each other by electromagneticforces set up in a field coil I45 that is energized from an alternatingcurrent source of supply. The armatures I44 are secured upon the endsofa U-shaped spring steel support I46 in such a manner that when thefield coil I 42 is energized, the armatures I44 will vibrate withrespect to each other. Associated with the armatures I44 and mountedupon each of the arms of the spring steel support I42 there is a one-wayacting clutch means I" that provides a driving connection between thevibrating armatures I44 and a disc I42 carried by a shaft I 42 uponwhich novel and is to be made the subject matter of a separateapplication for patent.

Reference is now made to Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 for a detaileddescription of the manner in which the reclosure timing mechanism 92 isset in operation upon an opening of the circuit breaker by the energystoring spring 23. As illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawings, the shaft25 that carries the sector 92 upon which the lug 9| is formed alsocarriesan enclosed gear sector I22 that is geared to a suitable timingmeans or escapement mechanism III. The gear sector I50 is also shown asbiased into an upper and inoperative position by means of a compressionspring I22 which is capable of exerting a sufficient torque upon theshaft 22 to. operate the escapement mechanism Iii and also carry thelink forming device 81 upwardly to collapse the toggle links I and IIand thus move the abutment forming member Ill of the reclosing latch 84out of latching relation with the abutment '1 upon the disc ti, aspreviously suggested. Upon referring particularly to Figures 9 and 10 ofthe drawings, it will be seen that the operating shaft ll of thereclosing timing mechanism It extends through to the rear of this devicewhere it supports an extending tongue or lever III which. under normaloperating conditions, is disposed in the path of the projecting pins- I"upon the gear Ii that drives the disc ll upon which the circuit breakeroperating crank :s is mounted. In these ngures oi the drawings a portionof the gear II is shown for the purpose of indicating the relativelocation of the pins I thereupon with respect to the tongue or lever I".With this arrangement it will be seen that as the gear ll rotatessumciently to carry the eccentric crank it through a one-halfrevolutionto open the circuit breaker contacts, one of the pins I33 thereupon willengage the ton ue or lever I" upon the timer shaft II and rotate thisshaft through a predetermined arc and compress the timer operatingspring I". At the end of this operation the tongue or lever ill will bereleased and the shaft is will be. returned to its original position bythe spring Ill. During this return movement of the shaft", the sector 82with its projecting lug II will also return toits initial position at apredetermined speed as determined by the timing escapement mechanismill, .and when the projecting lug engages the link forming device 01, itwill trip the toggle links 84 and 88 and permit the ene storing spring33 to reclose the circuit breake, contacts.

, At this point it should alsobe noted that the back of the timingmechanism It is provided with an arcuate ridge "lll'that is adapted tohold the tongue or. lever ill outwardly and in engagement with acooperating pin it! throughout its engagementtherewith. This ridge i,however, terminates at its upper endat-a point where the tongueor leverIII is free to move inwardly and. outof the path of thepins I. Inorderto hold-the endofthe' tongue or lever ill outwardly and in the pathof the pins I", which is its normal operating position, the slidablemember I previously referred to as controlled by the lever arm ll,,ishere shown as provided with a wedge forming end!!! which, when in theposition illustrated, will serve to hold the end of the tongue or leverill in its outer operative position. The slidable member ill is hereshown as having a slot I through which a screw lll passes to secure itslidably upon the back of the panel-like support ll. As is shown indetail in Figure 11, the tongue or lever III is pivotally mounted upon apin it! carried by the shaft DI and is biased into an inoperativeposition, as

shown by dot and dash lines, by means of a compression spring I". Beforepassing on to the remaining figures of the drawings for a more detaileddescription of the reclosing time controlling mechanism, reference isagain made to Figure 9 for the purpose of calling attention to themanner in which an interlocking circuit for the push button controlledelectromagnets 82 and I" are provided for. As here illustrated, thepanel-like support I 8 has two sets of spring contacts, designated bythe numerals I and "I, which constitute what are commonly reswitches, asis well understood in the art, are respectively closed and open when thecircuit breaker contacts are closed, and when the circuit breakercontacts are open, these switches I and ill arerespectively open andclosed. For the purpose of operating these A and B switches Ill and ill,the shaft 20 upon which the disc II is mounted, carries an eccentric camI" that is engaged by a pivotally mounted iorkedmember I" which carriesan insulating switch engaging member I that is adapted to alternatelyopen and/or close the interlocking switches I" and I" as the circuitbreaker contacts are operated respectively between their closed and opencircuit positions. .In the arrangement here shown the A switch contactsIII will be connected in the push button circuit of the electromagneticcoil 82, and the B switch contacts "I will be similarly connected in thecircuit of the electromagnetic coil I, shown in Figure 3 of thedrawings.

Reference is now made to Figures 12, 13, i4 and 15 of the drawings,wherein further details of the reclosing timer mechanism .8 and themanner in which it is associated with the reclosing latch mechanism :4is illustrated. As shown in these figures 0! the drawings, it will benoted that in addition to the sector I2 with its projecting lug 9i theshalt I! alsocarries an additional 80 tripping member I" that'carries aProjecting 1118 I" which is also adapted to engage the link formingdevice I! to 'eilect a collapsing of the toggle formed by the links' Itand 08. The lug I on the tripping member-l is normally posi- 36 tionedslightly in advance. of the-lug ll upon the sector 02, but, as is more{clearly illustrated in Figure 13, this tripping member-gill is biasedfor a'relative tripping movement independently of and with respect tothe sectonflby means of a 40 spring I61. The spring lll'is positionedbetween a downwardly extending arm I carried by the tripping member "Iandalatchlng lever I" which is pivotaliy mounted upon a shaft I'llcarried by the sector-l2. The latching-lever Ill has aproiecting endI'll which is adapted to ensage a shoulder I12 upon the tripping memberIll when the parts are in their normal position, and at a point betweenitspivotal axis and the projecting end-I'll this latching lever I" has ashoulder [-11 which is adapted to be eng ed by the shoulder I12 formedupon the tripping membe: III. as is illustrated in this figure of thedrawings. At its'other end the latching lever I" is adapted to engage-astationary stop Ill as the sector It, upon which it is mounted, isrotated clockwise upon an opening of the circuit breaker contacts. Whenthe parts are in this position. it will be seen that the projecting lug1 upon the tripping member I" has moved upwardly a distance suflicientto engage the link forming device l1 and eflect a collapse of the toggleformed by the links M and II When the latching lever III is brought intoengagement with the stationary stop Ill and the sector .2 continues inits clockwise rotation, the spring I" will be placed under an increasedtension and as soon as the projecting end I'll upon the latching leverIll disengages the shoulder III upon the tripping member I, this lattermember will be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction under theinfluence of the spring I" and independently of the sector 82 and engagethe link forming device 01.

This will produce a substantially instantaneous reclosing of the circuitbreaker contacts indeferred to as A and B switches. These A and B 15pendently of the timing mechanism 88 which continues to operate toeilect a subsequent time delayed reclosing oi the circuit breakercontacts. It will be understood that it normal conditions have beenestablished upon the line during the interval between the initialopening and this instantaneous reclos'ing. the lug 6i upon the sector 62will be ineilective, as the link forming evice 61 will be held out ofits path. On the other hand, if the abnormal condition still existsafter this instantaneous reclosing, the reclosing timing mechanism 66will continue to operate until the lug 6I upon its sector 62 comes intoengagement with the link forming device 61 to again trip the reclosinglatch 66 and effect a subsequent delayed reclosing oi the circuitbreaker contacts. At this point the timing mechanism 66 will continue tooperate and, i! 'the circuit breaker remains in its closed position, theupward movement of its sector 62 will continue until the extending armI66 upon the tripping member I66 engages the stop I16. Then, as thesector 62 continues to move upwardly, it will carry the shaft I16 withthe latching lever I66 upwardly and thus store energy in the spring I61.This relative movement between the tripping member I66 and the sector 62will also carry the projecting end I11 of the latching lever I66 intolatched engagement with the shoulder I12 upon the tripping member I66and the timing mechanism 66 will then be reset to effect aninstantaneous and, 30

it necessary. subsequently time delayed reclosing of the circuitbreaker. In this connection it will be understood that where a number ofsubsequent time delayed reclosings are necessitated, the sector 62 uponthe reclosing timing mechanism 66 will not have time between theseoperations to Idlto winter-clockwise a distance sufllcient to aresetting of the instantaneous tripping member I66 with respect to thesector 62 and,'as a result, the lug I66 upon the trippin lever 165 willnot be brought down tar. enough to become operative during thesesubsequent delayed reclosings, but will remain displaced upwardly fromthe lug 6| upon the sector 62, as shown in Fi ures 13 and 14 of thedrawings. As illustrated in Figure 12, it will be noted that the member66 is provided with an outwardly extending tongue portion I16 thatprojects into the path of a pin I16 carried by the link forming device61 and to which the spring 66 is connected. This tongue I16 upon themember 66 is so disposed in the path oi the pin I16 that when the linkforming device 61 is moved upwardly by an operation oi. the reclosingtimer mechanism 66. the pin I16 carried thereby will engage the inneredge of the tongue I16 and cause the link forming device 61 to berotated clockwise. This will cause the link form.- ing device 61 tobecome disengaged from the projection 6i c-r theprojection I66 carriedrespectively by the timed sector 62 and the instantaneous trippingmember I66 when the toggle formed by the links 36 and 85 has beencollapsed sumciently to move the abutment forming member II6 with itsroller II6 out oi latching relation with the abutment 62 upon. the disc6|. Upon comparing the position of the link forming device 61, as shownin Figures 12 and 14 of the drawings, it will be noted that in theformer figure the spring 66, which is carried by thev member 66, isdisposed above the pivotal axis of the link formingdevice 61, whereaswhen the member 66 g is rotated into the position illustrated in thelattcr figure of the drawings by an upward movement of the slidablemember 66, the spring 66 point the link iorming device 61. From this itwill be seen that when the member 66 has been rotated into this latterposition, the projecting tongue I16 and the spring 66 will operate tobias the link forming device 61 outwardly and into a position where thelugs 6i and I66. respectively carried by the sector ir'and theinstantaneous trippin member I66, may pass thereby and thus be renderedineilective to produce a reclosing of 1a the circuit breaker when theenergy storing spring 66 has unwound sumciently to produce the requireddisplacement of the end plate 66 which,

as previously suggested, operates through the push rod I66 to controlthe slidable member 66.

15 It will be noted, upon referring to Figure 15 of 5 respectively bythe sector 62 and the tripping member I66 and the projecting end of themanually operable tripping lever arm 66. It will also be seen that thepin I16 upon the link taming device 61 which carries the spring 66extends out-' wardly through the plane or the member 66'so that in itsupward movement it willbe brought into engagement with the projectingtongue portion I16 previously referred to as formed upon the member 66.1

For an understanding of the operation oi'our invention, referenceshouldnow be made to Fig" ures 1, 2 and 301' the drawings for a description ofits operation under' manual and so-called remote push button control; l'or this purpose it will be assumed that the energystoring spring 66 isfully wound and that the disc 6| is held in the position shown in Figure3 by the latch mechanism 66, and that as a consequence the contactbridging member 26 of the circuit breaker is in 0 its circuit closedposition. Now, should it be desired tov open the circuit breakermanually, the operator need only pull down on the push-pull rod 11. Thiswill rock the lever arm 1I upon its pivotal support 12 and bring the pin16 at the end 4 5 thereof into engagement with the boss 16 carried bythe link 66 and impart an Iupward movement thereto. This upward movementof the link 66 will collapse the toggle formed by the links 66 and 66upon the latch mechanism 66 and move the abutment II6 with its rollerII6 out of engagement with the abutment 62 carried by the disc 6I andthus permit the energy storing spring 66 to rotate the disc 6| throughan angle 01' 180 where the abutment 62 will engage the roller II6 car- 5ried by the abutment forming member II6 of the latch mechanism 66. Whenthis operation is completed, it will be seen that the pitman 21 carriedby the crank arm 26 will cause the lever arm 26 upon the shaft I6 to bepulled down and thus -the levers 26 upon the shaft I6 will also movedownwardly so as to move the bar 22 and the contact supporting members26 carried thereby downwardly until the contact bridging member 26 withits contacts II are out of circuit making engagement with the stationarycontacts 66 of the circuit breaker. Now, should it be desired to closethe circuit breaker manually, the operator need only push up on thepush-pull rod 11 and rock the lever mean 61 upwardly about its pivotal70 support 12. This will move the link 66 upwardly and carry theindependent tripping lever arm 66 upon the reclosing timer shaft 65 intotripping relation with the link forming device 61 to collapse the toggleformed by the links 66 and 66 will be positioned at the other side orthe pivot l 76 0f the s ng latch mechanism 66. This collapsing of thetoggle links it and II will move the abutment III with its roller II outof the path of the abutment 02 carried by the disc II and permit theenergy storing spring a to rotate the disc ll back into engagement withthe roller Ill carried by the abutment III of the latch mechanism It,as'shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. In the event that the circuitbreaker is provided with a remotely located push button control station,it will be understood that the electromagnetic coils l2 and I will beconnected in a, circuit with the opening and closing push buttons sothat they may be energized from a suitable source of electric power asdesired to open or close the main contacts of the circuit breaker.

As shown in Figure 3, if the electromasnetic 0011 I2 is energized, thearmature 8| associated therewith will be pulled up and as a result thelever arm II will be rotated about its pivotal axis 12 and thus eilectan opening operation of the circuit breaker, as outlined above.Conversely, if the electromagnetic coil III is energized, this willcause the armature IIII to move up and rotate the lever means l1 andthus lift the independent lever arm .4 of the reclosin timer mechanism93 into engagement with the link forming device s1 and trip the togglelinks I and ti to release the disc II. This will permit the energystoring spring 33 to open the contacts of the circuit breaker, ashasalso been described hereinabove in connection with the manualoperation of the circuit breaker. During both of the above openingoperations, which involve an upward movement of the lever arm II, itwill be seen that the downwardly and rearwardly disposed arm I carriedthereby will move and carry the slldable member I to the right, asviewed in Figure 3 of the drawings, and to the left, as viewed inFigures 9 and 10 of the drawings' This movement on the slldable member Iwill carry the wedge forming member I" at the end thereof out from underthe lever I" carried by the shaft OI of the reclosing timer mechanism IIand permit the lever I" to move out of the path of the pins I carried bythe gear II as the energy storing spring It operates to effect theopening operation of the circuit breaker. As a result of this, in theevent of a normal or push button operation of the control mechanism It,the reclosing timer mechanism 93 will not be set in operation and,therefore, the disc II will be stopped and held by the reclosing latchmechanism 84 with the circuit breaker in its open circuit position.

A complete automatic operation of our improved circuit breaker through aseries of opening and reclosing operations, such as would occur in theevent of a sustained overload or fault upon the power line in which thecircuit breaker is connected, will now be described. Under theseconditions, as in the description of the manual and push buttoncontrolled operation, it will be assumed that the energy storing spring33 is in its fully wound condition with the contact bridging member inits closed circuit position and that the elements of the controlmechanism I4 are in the positions illustrated in Figure 3 of thedrawings. At this point, since it is being assumed that the energystoring spring 33 is fully wound, it should be pointed out that inFigure 1 of the drawings the energy storing spring I! is shown in itsunwound condition in order to illustrate the manner in which the leverarm It. operates to control the motor circuit and through the rod I torender the reclosing timer mechanism It inop- 75 erative when the energystoring spring It reaches this unwound condition.

Under the assumed conditions, if an overload or fault occurs upon thepower circuit of the g circuit breaker, one or more of the trip coilsl2,

depending upon the phases of the power line affected, will becomeenergized and exert a downwardly pulling force upon its associatedinsulated rod 44 andcause the trip shaft II to be 10 rotated through anarc sutlicient to carrythe crank arm 41 upwardly, as viewed in Figure 3.This rotation of the shaft I will cause the end of the crank arm 41 toexert a pull on the timer link It. This will move the end of the crankarm 15 41 in the slot 81 of the link I with a delayed time action, asdetermined by the timer mechanism 59. As soon as the end of the crankarm 41 reaches the end of the slot 01 in the link I, further rotation ofthe crank arm 41 will cause the link 4. to collapse the toggle formed bythe links "and it of the opening latch It and release the disc ti. Assoon as the disc II is thus released, the energy storing spring 33 willoperate through its driving gear II and the pinion 25 II to rotate thedisc II and bring the abutment '2 carried thereby into latched relationwith the roller Ill carried by the abutment III of the reclosing latchmechanism 04. At the same time, as'the gear II rotates to impart thismovement so to the disc II, one of the pins III carried thereby willengage the lever I" which is supported upon the timer shaft II at therear of the timer mechanism It. As this pin III engages this lever Illit will rotate the shaft 05 andcarry the as sector 92 and theinstantaneous trip member it downwardly against the action of thereclosing timer compression spring II2. After this operation, the pinI33 will'become disengaged with the lever Ill and as a result the sectorI! of 40 the timer mechanism will be free to return slowly under theinfluence of the compression spring III at a speed determined by theescapement mechanism III. However, upon this initial downward movementof the sector 92, the latch lever i carried thereby will engage the stopIll and be moved sufficiently to carry the pro- Jecting end I'll carriedthereby out of engagement with the shoulder I12 upon the instantaneoustrip member I". This will permit an immediate-retum of the instantaneoustrip member I" through an arc sufllcient to engage the link formingdevice 01, as shown in Figure 13, and effect an immediate release of the.disc CI and consequently provide what might be described as aninstantaneous reclosing of the circuit breaker. Now, should the overloador fault be of a continuing nature, as assumed, one of the trip coils 42will again respond upon a closing of the circuit breaker contacts and asa result the lever arm I will again be moved upwardly to effect a secondopening of the circuit breaker contacts in the manner above describedfor the first opening of the circuit breaker. When the circuit breakercontacts are thus opened a second time, another one of the pins III willengage the lever I53 carried by the shaft or at the back of thereclosing timer mechanism It and again move the sector 92 downwardlyagainst the action of the compression spring Ill. During this interval,however, the latch I69 carried by the sector It will not have becomereset and, therefore, the projecting end I thereof will not be moveddown far enough to again engage the link forming device .1 and,therefore, there will be no instantaneous tripping of iormed by thelinks N and II alter a prede:

termined time delay, as determined by the escapement III. From this itwill be seen that up to this point the circuit breaker contacts havebeen operated through one immediate reclosing operation and one delayedreclosing operation. Now, should the overload or fault still prevailupon the circuit in which the circuit breaker is connected, the lastdescribed reclosing operation will be again repeated. During theinstantaneous and the two time delayed reclosing operations thusdescribed, it will be undertsood that the energy storing spring II willgive up its energy at a rate greater than the energy can be restoredthereto by means at the motor 31 and, therefore, the end plate 84carried thereby will move inwardly into the position shown in Figure loi the drawings, where the lever I" carried by the end plate it will bepermitted to move under the influence oi the spring I" and thus imparta' movement to the push rod I which will cause the slidable member IIto, be moved upwardly in a diagonal path into the position illustratedin Figure 14 of the drawings, where the link iorming device II will beheld out oi interfering relation with the projecting lugs II and Icarried respectively by the sector I! and the instantaneous trip member"I oi! the reclosing timer mechanism ll. Upon the last opening operationof the circuit breaker, it will be seen that since the link formingdevice ll has been rendered inoperative by this displacement or the endplate 34 and the consequent movement the slidable member ll, the toggleformed by the links I and It will remain extendedandasaresultthediscllwillbeflnally stopped by the latch mechanism ll in a position wherethe'contact bridging member II of the circuit breaker will be held outof circuit making engagement with the line terminals or the circuitbreaker. During the above operation it will also be understood that asthe lever I" is permitted to rotate under the influence oi the spring 2,the extension ill at the upper end we desire to have it understood thatthis inventionisnotlimitedtothespeciilcmeansdisclosed, but may beembodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to persons skilledin the art. It is believed that this invention is new and it is desiredto claim it so that all such changes as some within the scope oi theappended clsims are to be considered as part or this invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

i. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker oi the character described,the combination oi circuit controlling means, an energy storing springfor operating said circuit controlling means through a series of circuitopening and circuit reclosing operations, a latch means for holding saidcircuit controlling means in its closed circuit position, a second latchmeans for holding "said circuit controlling means in its open circuitposition, means responsive to load conditions upon the circuit in whichsaid circuit controlling means is connected adapted to render said iirstlatch inoperative and permit said energy storing spring to move saidcircuit controlling means into its circuit open position, and meansresponsive to said energy storing spring adapted upon an initial openingoperation or said circuit controlling means to render said second latchinoperative when said circuit controlling means reaches its circuit openposition and permit an immediate reclosing of said circuit controllingmeans by said energy storing pring.

2. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker or the character described,the combination of circuit controlling means adapted to be connected Iin a power circuit, an energy storing spring render said first latchinoperative and permit thereof will be moved out or engagement with theoperating button ill at the normally closed motor circuit controllingswitch I and as a result the motor 31 will continue to operate to rewindthe energy storing spring 33. After the circuit breaker has been latchedin either its open or closed circuit position, the motor II willcontinue to operate to rewind the energy storing spring 33 until the endplate 84 carried thereby has moved outwardly a suflicient distance tocause the lever I" to move and bring its extending end I into circuitopening engagement with the button ill of the normally closed switchill.

While we have, for the sake oi clearness and in order to disclose ourinvention so that the same can be readily understood, described andillustrated speciiic devices and arrangements,

said energy storing spring to move said circuit controlling means intoits circuit open position, means responsive to said energy storingspring adapted upon an initial opening operation of said circuitcontrolling means to render said second latch inoperative when saidcircuit controlling means reaches its circuit open position and permitan immediate reclosing of said circuit controlling means by said energystoring spring, and means for rendering said last means inoperative inthe event of an immediate circuit reopening operation of said circuitcontrolling means by said energy storing spring.

3. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker oi the character described,the combination of circuit controlling means, an energy storing springfor operating said circuit controlling means through a series 0! circuitopening and circuit reclosing operations,v a latch means for holdingsaid circuit controlling means in its closed circuit position, a secondlatch means for holding said circuit controlling means in its opencircuit position, means responsive to a fault or overload condition uponthe power circuit in which said circuit controlling means is connectedadapted to render said first latch inoperative and permit said energystoring spring to move said circuit controlling means into its circuitopen position, a latch tripping means rcsponsive to said energy storingspring upon an initial opening operation of said circuit controllingmeans adapted to render said second latch inoperative when said circuitcontrolling means has reached its full circuit open position, wherebysaid circuit controlling means will be immediately operated by saidenergy storin spring to reclose the circuit controlled thereby, andmeans !or rendering said latch tripping means inoperative after saidinitial opening and reclosing operation in the event 9! a sustainedfault or overload condition upon the power circuit in which the circuitcontrolling means is connected.

4. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the character described,the combination oi. circuit controlling means, an energy storing springadapted to operate said circuit controlling means through a series oicircuit opening and circuit reclosing operations, a latch means forholding said circuit controlling means in its closed circuit position, asecond latch means for holding said circuit controlling means in itsopen circuit position, means responsive to an overload condition uponthe power circuit in which said circuit controlling means is connectedadapted to render said ilrst latch inoperative and permit said energystoring spring to move said circuit controlling means into its circuitopen position, a latch tripping means responsive to said energy storingspring upon an initial opening operation 01' said circuit controllingmeans adapted to render said second latch inoperative when said circuitcontrolling means has reached its circuit open position, whereby saidcircuit controlling means will be immediately operated by said energystoring spring to reclose the circuit controlled thereby, means forrendering said latch tripping means inoperative after said initialcircuit reclosing operation in the event of a sustained fault oroverload condition upon the power circuit in which the circuitcontrolling means is connected, and a delayed action latch trippingmeans responsive to said'energy storing spring for rendering said secondlatch inoperative after a predetermined time interval following anycircuit opening operation of said circuit controlling means by saidenergy storing spring immediately following the initial reclosingoperation thereof in response to said latch tripping means.

5. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the character described,the combination of circuit controlling means adapted to open and close apower circuit, an energy storing spring for operating said circuitcontrolling means through a series of circuit openin and circuitreclosing operations, a latch means for holdin said circuit controllingmeans in its closed circuit position, a second latch means for holdingsaid circuit controlling means in its open circuit position, meansresponsive to load conditions upon the circuit in which said circuitcontrolling means is connected adapted to render said first latchinoperative and permit said energy storing spring to move said circuitcontrolling means into its circuit open position, a timing mechanismadapted to be set in operation by said energy storing spring during eachopening operation of said circuit controlling means. means controlled bysaid timing mechanism adapted in the event oil a sustained fault oroverload upon the power circuit to render said second latch inoperatives,su,7-rs

after a predetermined interval or, lapsed time to permit a reclosing ofsaid circuit controlling means by said energy storing spring, and meansassociated with said timing mechanism adapted upon an initial circuitopening operation oi said circuit controlling means in response to themeans responsive to load conditions upon the power circuit to rendersaid second latch inoperative independently oi said timing mechanism andpermit an immediate reclosing oi said circuit controlling means by saidenergy storing spring.

6. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the character described,the combination oi circuit controlling means adapted to open and close apower circuit. an energy storing spring for operating said circuitcontrolling means through a series of circuit opening and circuitreclosing operations, a latch means for holding said circuit controllingmeans in its closed circuit position. a second latch means for holdingsaid circuit controlling means in its open circuit position, meansresponsive to load conditions upon the circuit in which said circuitcontrolling means is connected adapted to render said first latchinoperative and permit said energy storing spring to move said circuitcontrolling means into its circuit open position, a timing mechanismadapted to be set in operation by said energy storing spring upon eachopening operation or said circuit controlling means, means associatedwith said timing mechanism adapted upon an initial circuit openingoperation of said circuit controlling means in any one series of circuitopening and circuit closing operations to render said second latchinoperative independently of said timing mechanism and permit animmediate reclosing of said circuit con,- trolling means by said energystoring spring. other means controlled by said timing mechanism adaptedupon each subsequent opening operation of the circuit controlling meansresulting from a sustained fault or overload upon the power circuit torender said second latch inoperative aiter predetermined intervals oflapsed time to elect a plurality of subsequent reclosing operations ofsaid circuit controlling means by said energy stor-' ing spring, andmeans responsive to an unwound condition oi said energy storing springfor rendering said timing mechanism inoperative upon said second latchedmeans after a predetermined number of reclosing operations of saidcircuit controlling means.

"I. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination oi circuit controlling contacts adapted to bemoved out of and into engagement with each other to respectively openand close a load circuit, an energy storing spring, means operated bysaid energy storing spring for moving said circuit controlling contactsthrough a series of circuit opening and circuit reclosing operations, alatching means for holding said means against operation by said energystoring spring when said contacts are in their circuit closed position,electromagnetic means responsive to load conditions upon the circuitcontrolled by said contacts, mechanical means operated by saidelectromagnetic means adapted to render said latching means inoperativeand permit an operation oi said energy storing spring and movement ofsaid circuit controlling contacts into an open circuit position in theevent oi an overload or imit upon the circuit controlled thereby, and amechanical timing device associated with said mechamcal means andperating independently of current conditions upon the circuit forintroducing a predetermined time delay m the operation of-saidelectromagnetic means in responsetoanoverloadorfaultandtherelease ofsaid shaft by said latching means.

8. In an automatic recloting circuit breaker of the character described,the combination of circuit controlling contacts adapted to be moved outof and into engagement with each other to rapectivelyopen and close apower transmission circuit, an energy storingspring. a shaft adapted tobe rotated by said energy storing spring, means operated by rotation ofsaid shaft for moving said circuit controlling contacts through aseriesof circuit opening and circuit reclosing operations, a

latching means for holding said shaft against rotation by said energystoring spring when said contacts are in their circuit closed position,an

overload tripping device responsive to load'conditions upon the circuitthrough said contacts. means operated mechanically by said overloadtripping device adapted to render said latching means inoperative andpermit a movement of said circuit controlling contacts into a circuit,open position by said energy storing spring in the event of an overloador fault upon the power -Itransmission circuit. and a mechanical action--delaying device associated with said last means for retarding itsoperation by said overload tripinterval between the actuation of' saidoverload tripping device and the release of said shaft by said latchingmeans.

9. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the character described,the combination of circuit-contro11ing contacts adapted to be movedoutof and into engagement with each other to respectively open and closea power tron circuit, an energy storing spring, a shaft adapted to berotated'by said energy storing spring, means operated by rotation ofsaid shaft for moving said circuit controlling contacts through a seriesof circuit opening and circuit reclosing opera: tions, a latching meansfor holding said shaft against rotation by said energy storing springwhen said contacts are in their circuit closed position, electromagneticmeans responsive to load conditions upon the circuit through saidcontacts adapted. torender said latching means inoperative and permit 'amovement of said circuit controlling contacts into an open circuitposition by rotation of said shaft in the event render said latchingmeans inoperative and permit a movement of said circuitcontroilingcontacts into an open circuit position by rotation ofsaidshaft in the event of an overload or fault upon the power circuit. asecond latching means for stopping rotation of said shaft whensaidcontacts reach their circuit open position,atimingmechanismadaptedtobeaet inoperationbysaidenergystoringspringupon each opening operation ofsaid circuit controlling contacts, means controlled by said timingmechanism adapted in the event of a sustained fault or overload upon thepower circuit to render'said second latch inoperative after apredetermined interval of lapsed time following each opening operationof said circuit controlling contacts to effect a plurality ofsubsequentreclosn! operations" of said circuit controlling contactsby said energystoring spring, and means responsive to an unwound condition ofsaidenergy storing spring for rendering said timing mechanism inoperativetocontrol said second latching means after a predetermined number ofreclosing operations of said circuit controlling means.

11. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of eping device and introducing apredeterminedtime circuit controlling contacts adapted to be moved outof and intoengagement with each other to respectively open and close apower ton circuit, an energy'storing spring. a shaft adapted to berotated by said energy storing spring, means operated by rotation ofsaid shaft for moving said-circuit controlling contacts through a seriesof" circuit opening and circuit reclosing op power transmission circuit,a latching mechanism adapted to stop rotation of said shaft by saidenergy storing spring when said circuit controlling contacts are intheir circuit open position, and means set in operation by said energystoring spring upon an initial operation thereof of anoverload or faultupon the power transmisf sion circuit, a mechanical lost motion linkconnection between said last means and said latch ing means, and anaction delaying device associated with said lost motion link connectionfor introducing a predetermined time interval between the occurrence ofan overload or fault upon the power circuit and the release of saidshaft by said latching means.

10. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of circuit controlling contacts adapted to bemoved out of and into engagement with each other to respectively openand close a power transmission circuit, an energy storing spring, ashaft adapted to be rotated by said energy. storing spring, meansoperated by rotation of said shaft for moving said controlling contactsthrough a series of circuit opening and circuit reclosing operations, alatching means for holding said shaft against rotation by said energystoring spring when said contacts are in their closed circuit position,means responsive to load conditions upon the power transmission circuitadapted to to rotate said shaft and move said circuit controllingcontacts into their open circuit position adapted to render saidlatching mechanism inoperative, whereby said energy storing spring willoperate to rotate said shaft and effect an immediate circuit reclosingmovement of said circuit controlling contacts. V H

12. In an. automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of circuit controlling contacts adapted to bemoved out of and into engagement with each other to respectively openand close. a power transmission circuit, an energy storing spring, ashaft adapted to be rotated by said energy storing spring, meansoperated by rotation of -said shaft for moving said circuit controllingcontacts through a series of circuit opening and circuit reclosingoperations, means normally holding said shaft against rotation by saidenergy storing spring when said contacts are in their closed circuitposition, means responsive to load conditions upon the powertransmission circuit adapted to render said normally holding meansinoperative in the event of an overload or fault upon the powertransmission circuit, a latching mechanism adapted to stop rotation ofsaid shaft by said energy storing spring when said circuit controllingcontacts are in their circuit open position, means set in operation bysaid energy storing spring upon an initial operation thereof to rotatesaid shaft and move said. circuit controlling contacts into their opencircuit position arranged and adapted to render said latching mechanisminoperative, whereby said energy storing spring will operate to rotatesaid shaft andeii'ect an immediate circuit reclosing movement of saidcircuit controlling contacts, and a timing means associated with saidlast means a,sii,'ria

crating said circuit controlling means through a aeries of circuitopening and circuit reclosing operations, a torsional energy storingspring atadapted upon an immediate subsequent circuit opening movementof said circuit controlling contacts to render said means operative torelease said latching. mechanism after a predetermined interval oflapsed time, whereby in the event of a continuing overload or fault uponthe power transmission circuit said circuit controlling contacts will)operated through a series of at least two reclosing operations the firstone of which will occur immediately following the first circuit openingoperation of said circuit controlling contacts and the second of whichwill occur after a predetermined time interval following a secondcircuit opening movement of said circuit controlling contacts.

13. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of circuit controlling means, a driving shaftfor operating said circuit controlling means through a series of circuitopening and circuit reclosing operations, a torsional energy storingspring secured at one end to said driving shaft and arrangedconcentrically thereto, an end plate slidably and rotatably mounted uponsaid driving shaft and to which the other end of said torsional energystoring spring is connected, means for holding said end plate againstrotation upon said driving shaft when said spring is wound to storeenergy therein, means carried by said driving shaft and cooperating withsaid end plate for imparting a definite axial movement to said end plateas said driving shaft is rotated by said energy storing spring, andmeans responsive to the axial movement of said end plate adapted torender said circuit controlling means inoperative upon a predeterminedaxial movement of said end plate as said energy storing spring unwindsto impart rotation to said driving shaft.

14. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of circuit controlling means, a driving shaftfor operating said circuit controlling means through a series of circuitopening and circuit reclosing operations, a torsional energy storingspring attached at one end to said driving shaft and arrangedconcentrically thereto, an end plate slidably and rotatably mounted uponsaid driving shaft and to which the other end of said torsional energystoring spring is connected, means for holding said end plate againstrotation upon said driving shaft when said spring is wound to storeenergy therein, a spiral guide means carried by said driving shaft, aguide engaging means carried by said end plate for imparting a definiteaxial movement to said end plate as said driving shaft is rotated bysaid energy storing spring, and means cooperating with said end plateadapted to render said circuit controlling means inoperative in theevent of a predetermined axial displacement of said end plate upon shaftand to which the other end of said an sional energy storing spring isconnected, an

electric motor for rotating said end plate about said driving shaft towind and. store energy in said energy storing spring, means carried bysaid driving shaft and cooperating with said end plate for imparting adefinite axial movement to said end plate as it is rotated relative tosaid drivin shaft by said electric motor, an energizing circuit for saidelectric motor. a normally closed circuit controlling switch in'saidcircuit for controlling the energization of said electric motor. andmeans responsive to the axial movement of said end plate upon saiddriving shaft resulting from a rotation thereof by said electric motoradapted to open said normally closed switch and disconnect the electricmotor from said energizing circuit.

18. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of circuit controlling means, an energystoring spring for operating said circuit controlling means through aseries of circuit opening and circuit reclosing operations, a latchmeans for holding said circuit controlling means in a closed circuitposition, a second latch means for holding said circuit controllingmeans in its open circuit position, means responsive to said energystoring spring adapted upon an opening operation of said circuitcontrolling means to render said second latch inoperative when saidcircuit controlling means reaches its open circuit position and permitan immediate reclosing of said circuit controlling means by said energystoring spring, manually operable means for rendering said first latchmeans inoperative and permitting said energy storing spring to move saidcircuit controlling means into its circuit open position, and meanscontrolled by said manual means adapted to render the means responsiveto said energy storing spring inoperative in the event of a manuallycontrolled opening operation of said circuit controlling means.

17. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker of the characterdescribed, the combination of circuit controlling means adapted to openand close a power circuit, an energy storing spring for operating saidcircuit controlling means through a series of circuit-opening andcircuit reclosing operations, a latch means for holding said circuitcontrolling means in its closed circuit position, a second latch meansfor holding said circuit controlling means in its open circuit position,means responsive to load conditions upon the circuit in which saidcircuit controlling means is connected adapted to render said firstlatch inoperative and permit said energ storing spring to move saidcircuit controlling means said shaft as said energy storingspringunwinds 1 into its circuit open position, a timing means fordelaying the operation of said first latch means by said meansresponsive to load conditions, a second timing means adapted to be setin operation by said energy storing spring during each opening operationof said circuit controlling means, means controlled by said secondtiming'means adapted in the event of a sustained fault or overload uponthe power circuit to render said second latch inoperative after apredetermined interval of lapsed time to permit a reclosing of saidcircuit controlling means by said energy storing spring, and meansassociated with said second timing means adapted upon an initial circuitopening operation of said circuit controlling means in response to themeans responsive to load conditions upon the power circuit to rendersaid second latch inoperative independently of said second timing means,whereby said circuit controlling means will operate to provide a delayedopening, an immediate reclosing and a series of delayed openings andreclosings of the controlled circuit in the event of a sustained faultor overload thereupon.

18. In an automatic reclosing circuit breaker having relatively movablecontacts adapted to control a load circuit. an operating shaft forcontrolling the relative movements for said contacts, an energy storingspring means for operating said shaft through a series oi. contactmoving operations, a latching means for holding said shaft againstrotation by said energy storing spring when said contacts are in acircuit closed position, an overload trip ing device responsive tocurrent passing through said contacts, a me-

